The Jumbies' Playing Ground

Old World Influences on Afro-Creole Masquerades in the Eastern Caribbean

Nonfiction, History, Americas, Caribbean & West Indies, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Folklore & Mythology
Cover of the book The Jumbies' Playing Ground by Robert Wyndham Nicholls, University Press of Mississippi
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Robert Wyndham Nicholls ISBN: 9781617036125
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi Publication: September 14, 2012
Imprint: University Press of Mississippi Language: English
Author: Robert Wyndham Nicholls
ISBN: 9781617036125
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Publication: September 14, 2012
Imprint: University Press of Mississippi
Language: English

During the masquerades common during carnival time, jumbies (ghosts or ancestral spirits) are set free to roam the streets of Caribbean nations, turning the world topsy-turvy. Modern carnivals, which evolved from earlier ritual celebrations featuring disguised performers, are important cultural and economic events throughout the Caribbean, and are a direct link to a multilayered history.


This work explores the evolutionary connections in function, garb, and behavior between Afro-Creole masquerades and precursors from West Africa, the British Isles, and Western Europe. Robert Wyndham Nicholls utilizes a concept of play derived from Africa to describe a range of lighthearted and ritualistic activities. Along with Old World seeds, he studies the evolution of Afro-Creole prototypes that emerged in the Eastern Caribbean--bush masquerades, stilt dancers, animal disguises, she-males, female masquerades, and carnival clowns.


Masquerades enact social, political, and spiritual roles within recurring festivals, initiations, wakes, skimmingtons, and weddings. The author explores performance in terms of abstraction in costume-disguise and the aesthetics of music, songs, drum-rhythms, dance, and licentiousness. He reveals masquerades as transformative agent, ancestral endorser, behavior manager, informal educator, and luck conferrer.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

During the masquerades common during carnival time, jumbies (ghosts or ancestral spirits) are set free to roam the streets of Caribbean nations, turning the world topsy-turvy. Modern carnivals, which evolved from earlier ritual celebrations featuring disguised performers, are important cultural and economic events throughout the Caribbean, and are a direct link to a multilayered history.


This work explores the evolutionary connections in function, garb, and behavior between Afro-Creole masquerades and precursors from West Africa, the British Isles, and Western Europe. Robert Wyndham Nicholls utilizes a concept of play derived from Africa to describe a range of lighthearted and ritualistic activities. Along with Old World seeds, he studies the evolution of Afro-Creole prototypes that emerged in the Eastern Caribbean--bush masquerades, stilt dancers, animal disguises, she-males, female masquerades, and carnival clowns.


Masquerades enact social, political, and spiritual roles within recurring festivals, initiations, wakes, skimmingtons, and weddings. The author explores performance in terms of abstraction in costume-disguise and the aesthetics of music, songs, drum-rhythms, dance, and licentiousness. He reveals masquerades as transformative agent, ancestral endorser, behavior manager, informal educator, and luck conferrer.

More books from University Press of Mississippi

Cover of the book Song of My Life by Robert Wyndham Nicholls
Cover of the book Hip Hop on Film by Robert Wyndham Nicholls
Cover of the book He Stopped Loving Her Today by Robert Wyndham Nicholls
Cover of the book Mobilizing for the Common Good by Robert Wyndham Nicholls
Cover of the book Chester Brown by Robert Wyndham Nicholls
Cover of the book Faulkner and the Black Literatures of the Americas by Robert Wyndham Nicholls
Cover of the book Life on the Press by Robert Wyndham Nicholls
Cover of the book Living in Mississippi by Robert Wyndham Nicholls
Cover of the book Last Barriers by Robert Wyndham Nicholls
Cover of the book Fifty Years after Faulkner by Robert Wyndham Nicholls
Cover of the book Confessions of an Undercover Agent by Robert Wyndham Nicholls
Cover of the book We End in Joy by Robert Wyndham Nicholls
Cover of the book Michael Winterbottom by Robert Wyndham Nicholls
Cover of the book Beyond Windrush by Robert Wyndham Nicholls
Cover of the book Black Folklore and the Politics of Racial Representation by Robert Wyndham Nicholls
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy